Is it true that children learn faster than adults? - Learning

Yes Meredith, Children do learn faster than adults. Children's brain are growing in size as they learn, enabling them to create new synapses quickly and retain information.

Absolutely, children's brains are more "plastic" than an adults'. In simple terms this means their brains can change more easily and more frequently than an adult brain.

Yes, kids have more neurons actively creating new connections than adults do, so they can do things like learn to play tennis or memorize the multiplication tables or learn to play video games or fix a computer much more easily than adults can.

Children definitely learn faster than adults. They also have more to learn in a relatively short period of time since they are a blank slate to begin with. In addition, children learn new languages much more easily than adults.

I do believe that is absolutely true. Children pick up on information like sponges. Their capacity to retain information is at a higher level. Their ability to repeat and simply comprehend things is quite incredible. Definitely at a faster rate than adults can!

You are right to believe that adults CAN learn faster than children--DEPENDING ON THE SUBJECT! While it is true that, generally speaking, children DO learn faster than adults, this is not ALWAYS, NECESSARILY the case. I've been working with adults for years, and it is so incredible to me every time an adult experiences an 'epiphany' while we are working together. Sometimes there are moments when the light goes on for an adult, and they just sort of 'snap' into a state of intellectual advancement, or even MASTERY. I've seen students suddenly understand a topic that they had been struggling with for years. When teaching voice students, I've had several students cry during a moment of such victory. Don't believe that it's ever too late for you to do phenomenal things with your mind, Meredith. When you are learning a subject that is important to you, and you can connect the material to your life in meaningful ways, there's no limit to how quickly and how deeply you can assimilate new information. You can make connections that are impossible for any child; and the power to make intellectual and emotional connections is what learning and memorization are all about. Feel free to defy the norm: the adult mind is truly a miracle.

Yes you are correct, children's brains do grow faster than adults. Their brains are like a sponge and they soak up information more easily and readily than an adults brain. The critical learning and developmental stage of children is birth to 5, with the quickest learning occurring from birth to 3. For example, a 9 month old baby understands about 20 words. By the time they are 12 months they know about 60 words.

It is true and it's a great thing to take advantage of if you have children!

Yes, this is totally true! A child has the capacity to learn a new language in less than a year.

The term "Learn while you're young" fully applies. From birth until the teen years, a child's brain not only grows, but the child also develops a natural curiosity which is best fulfilled by the teaching of new and needed skills. The child is fed information by the millions, but most of this is deciphered and retained because the student has the ability to do this. By the time a child graduates from high school, most of the skills required for success as an adult should have been learned. This ability begins to slow during college years but the student should have gained the know-how to succeed at this level in the lower grades. After college, now established in an adult life and career, the barriers to learning start building. As we get older, with the passing of each year, learning becomes more difficult. The older learner may not be willing to change and at the first sign of struggle, will just throw up their hands and give up. An older student who returns to school after 50 has to be a person who understands there is something to prove; that you must go in with enthusiasm, that you have to work harder, and to not let any disappointments let you down. It can be done. You still have to refer back to what you originally learned, so many years ago as a child, and that includes those emotional skills you have experienced many times since. We as humans continue to learn throughout our lives. But the prime years for learning and development of our brains comes as children. Learn as much as you can, in the prime years of your youth. It's not impossible, but it becomes harder to learn something new as the years go by.

It is certainly true that children's brains are particularly receptive to new knowledge and routines. After all, have you noticed the difference between beginner skiing with children and adults- within a couple hours, kids are skiing as if they had been born that way! However, the maturity level and concentration span is different. I believe with the right intentions, adults can learn routines and use their experience to their advantage. Ultimately, where there is a will there is a way, and each individual has the capacity to learn at any stage.

We have all heard the saying that children's brains are like sponges! As the brain develops it learns quickly. This is true for children, teens, and young adults. The capacity to pick things up so easily starts to decline in adulthood. Nevertheless, we should all strive to be life long learners and pursue any academic interest at any age.

In my personal experience, yes, children learn more quickly, retain information better, and soak up information like little sponges. I have an 11 year-old student who absorbs more than my adult students and continually surprises me with his retention skills. However, it depends, of course, on the experience of the adult as well as the motivation. I would say motivation plays a large role at any age.